User blog:Carrieunderwoodfanforlife/For Your CMA Consideration: Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood is up for four major honors at this year's CMA Awards. Coincidentally, 2016 marks the Country Music Association's 50th year to be holding the awards, and Carrie is returning to co-host for the ninth year in a row with Brad Paisley. Her nominations include Entertainer of the Year (her first year to ever be nominated in this category), Female Vocalist of the Year (an award she has won three times), Album of the Year (for her gold-certified current disc Storyteller), and Musical Event of the Year (for her collaboration with Keith Urban on "The Fighter", from Urban's current album Ripcord). In order to examine why Carrie Underwood deserves the big one - Entertainer - a person would have to look at the country superstar's entire 11-year career since winning American Idol in 2005. Over the course of 11 years, Carrie has sent 23 singles to number one on the country charts, if you include her collaborations with fellow country stars Miranda Lambert ("Somethin' Bad") and Brad Paisley ("Remind Me"). 15 of those singles went to #1 specifically on Billboard's Country Airplay chart - the most number ones for a female country artist in history. Only country icon Reba McEntire ( an Entertainer of the Year winner) follows behind her. In addition, Carrie has had 6 albums go to #1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. This is a woman who has been faithfully exclusive to the country genre, even though at one point she could have crossed over into pop territory ala Taylor Swift (another Entertainer of the Year winner). No other country artist has had 6 consecutive albums go to number one - at least not yet. As the top-selling country artist in terms of digital sales, Carrie has sold over 65 million records worldwide. That's counting her albums and singles, particularly her debut CD, Some Hearts, which has sold an astounding 8 million copies since its release, becoming the best-selling debut album by a country artist. Included in that album were two huge country hits - "Before He Cheats" (widely regarded as Underwood's greatest musical accomplishment to date), and "Jesus, Take the Wheel", a single that saw success not only in the country field, but also on the Christian and contemporary charts. At the start of her career, Carrie was sweeping up awards and scoring number one hits like crazy. A few may have even said the ''American Idol ''winner wasn't entirely deserving of her success. But that was ten years ago - Carrie Underwood has since proven time and time again her commitment as an artist. And not just an artist - an ambassador and spokesperson for country music specifically. In 2008, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by the legend himself, Garth Brooks. Carrie has consistently cited Brooks as one of her idols, along with country veterans like Reba and Martina McBride. This is a woman who grew up listening to country music, never really believing she would one day end up sharing the stage with other country artists. Since that time, Underwood has performed at the Grand Ole Opry several times every year. Never once has she been caught up in a scandal or brought shame to the country genre. She has a close connection with her fans, and in her acceptance speeches she is always sure to thank her family and friends. That brings us to 2016. Not only has Carrie's ''Storyteller Tour ''been cited by Billboard as the #1 country tour of the year, Carrie has also been touring basically nonstop all year long. The tour started on January 31 and continued through May, with a break just long enough that Carrie could refresh briefly for another leg starting at the end of August. That leg will continue through the end of November, and then she will join Keith Urban in Australia for his ''Ripcord ''tour in December. No one can say she hasn't been working all year long for the title of Entertainer of the Year. While touring around the United States, Canada, and European countries like England or Ireland, Carrie's singles have been going up the charts. She scored two number one hits alone this year - "Heartbeat" and "Church Bells", on the Country Airplay, and both singles are certified gold. Carrie has served as a face for country music on several occasions. At the start of this year, she was the headlining country act for the New Years Rockin' Eve special with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square, massive exposure for her number one hits "Smoke Break", "Heartbeat", and "Before He Cheats". The sheer size of her fanbase is evident when it comes to fan-voted awards. This year she picked up two buckles at the CMT Music Awards - Female Video of the Year and Performance of the Year for "Smoke Break". One only has to watch her captivating performance of "Church Bells" at the awards show to see what kind of entertainer she is. Underwood has major pipes - she can actually sing live! That is becoming increasingly rare as pop acts depend more and more on autotune and lip-synced performances at award shows. Speaking of, she also represented at the Teen Choice Awards this year, winning Choice Country Artist. The ''Storyteller Tour ''has been a positive push for country music, taking people's expectations of what country is and bursting through those conventions and expectations. Yes, Carrie may have a bit of 80s rocker in her style - but that is exactly why she deserves an Entertainer award. She is beyond labels and genres. She is an artist, regardless of what kind of music she's making. Her choice has always been to make country music, and it is a choice she will no doubt continue to follow throughout the remainder of her career. Carrie Underwood is the right choice for Entertainer of the Year. Not because she is a woman. Not because it is her "time" or it is "owed" to her. Simply because she's had a great year, she's put on an entertaining show, and she has been- and will always be - a positive voice for country music. Category:Blog posts